History
After standing vacant for nearly eight years, the former Morrow Elementary building has a new lease on life.
The original school building at Pike and Miranda Streets was erected in 1913 after the Morrow Board of Education placed a bond issue on the November, 1912 ballot for the purposes of building a school. The previous public school building in Morrow had been built in 1860 and included four rooms. Due to growth in the region, an additional two rooms were added in 1868. The bond issue to build the new school passed in by three votes - 96 for and 93 against. The new school building was built in 1914 and the first class graduated in 1915. In the mid-1930s, as Ohio took steps to consolidate smaller schools into the larger school districts, enrollment grew at the Morrow school to the extent that additions were added in 1939 and 1951. For a short while, a free standing gymnasium was located near the school building. The Little Miami School District was formed in 1954 after the residents of the Butlerville, Maineville and Morrow school districts agreed to consolidate. The school building in Morrow served grades K-12 until a high school for the newly formed district was built on Welch Road in 1956. For many years after the high school grades moved to Welch Road, the building served area students from kindergarten through sixth grade. |
Morrow Arts Center Grand Re-Opening - October 2019 |
When the district was forced to close the building at the end of the 2008-09 school year due to financial challenges, the school was serving preschool through fourth grade.
In 2017, the Little Miami Board of Education approved the sale of the building to Trent Heimann. Trent has a history of refurbishing old properties and creating new uses for the space. In 2000, he repurposed the former Hamilton Tailoring factory in Walnut Hills and created Essex Studios, a collection of individual studio spaces that are rented to more than 100 visual and performing artists, arts organizations, musicians and other creatives. Trent had a similar vision for the former Morrow school.
“We hope to do a sort of baby Essex Studios,” Trent said at the time. “We want to be invested in the neighborhood and invested in the community.”
Trent and his team have preserved much of the building's school house charm - blackboards, pencil sharpeners, clocks and intercoms remain in many of the old classrooms. Original woodwork, brick and even lockers remain throughout the building. The original wooden stage and bleachers are still intact in the gymnasium/auditorium. When Trent renamed the building as the Morrow Arts Center, he was able to repurpose the art deco block letters that had once spelled out Morrow Elementary School on the side of the building.
A grand reopening was held in October 2019 to mark the rebirth of the building as the Morrow Arts Center.
In 2017, the Little Miami Board of Education approved the sale of the building to Trent Heimann. Trent has a history of refurbishing old properties and creating new uses for the space. In 2000, he repurposed the former Hamilton Tailoring factory in Walnut Hills and created Essex Studios, a collection of individual studio spaces that are rented to more than 100 visual and performing artists, arts organizations, musicians and other creatives. Trent had a similar vision for the former Morrow school.
“We hope to do a sort of baby Essex Studios,” Trent said at the time. “We want to be invested in the neighborhood and invested in the community.”
Trent and his team have preserved much of the building's school house charm - blackboards, pencil sharpeners, clocks and intercoms remain in many of the old classrooms. Original woodwork, brick and even lockers remain throughout the building. The original wooden stage and bleachers are still intact in the gymnasium/auditorium. When Trent renamed the building as the Morrow Arts Center, he was able to repurpose the art deco block letters that had once spelled out Morrow Elementary School on the side of the building.
A grand reopening was held in October 2019 to mark the rebirth of the building as the Morrow Arts Center.
Sources:
Marlene Schwartz DeBoard's Graduates of Morrow High School, Vols 1-3, Morrow Historical Society
Little Miami School District
Marlene Schwartz DeBoard's Graduates of Morrow High School, Vols 1-3, Morrow Historical Society
Little Miami School District